Looking at Luokou City from a distance, it looks like a tomb of ice and snow. It is no longer clear where is the city wall and where is the ice and snow.
Looking at the masterpiece made by his own hands, Yan Liang had the urge to gasp.
"Cao Cao is really capable of carrying it. He refuses to retreat despite this." Yan Liang said with emotion.
The cold wind blew, and Yan Liang's face turned red from the cold, so he drove his horse back to the camp and went to the military tent to keep warm.
According to Yan Liang's original plan, under these brutal attacks, Cao Cao would not be able to hold out for long. In less than ten days, he would be forced to abandon Luokou City and retreat to Chang'an.
But the fact is that Yan Liang turned Luokou into ice and turned it into a dead city, but Cao Cao still persisted in holding on, which gave Yan Liang some headaches.
The coldest days have passed. In recent days, the temperature has begun to get warmer. This is not a good sign for Yan Liang.
Once the temperature rose back above freezing, Yan Liang's water dragon cannons would be useless. At that time, in order to prevent being flooded by the Wei River, he had no choice but to retreat.
Although it is said that Yan Liang has sent troops to build the dam dug for Cao Cao last year, no one can guarantee whether the repair will be effective when the water rises. Yan Liang will not risk hundreds of thousands of troops.
Before spring begins, Chang'an must be captured!
"I didn't expect Cao Cao to be so stubborn. He would rather die than retreat. What can you do?" Yan Liang surrounded the stove and asked the counselors.
All the counselors frowned, and they were at a loss for what to do.
In the silence, Fazheng suddenly asked: "Your Majesty, I have heard that last year, someone in Chang'an City contacted your Majesty and said that the Han Emperor asked your Majesty to send troops to help the king. Is this possible?
"
Yan Liang's expression moved slightly. If Fa Zheng had not mentioned this matter, he would have almost forgotten about it, because Liu Xie and his supporters, old and young, in Yan Liang's view, were simply a bunch of useless waste.
"It is indeed true that Fu Wan, the father-in-law of the Han Emperor, contacted me secretly. I didn't take it seriously at the time. I just replied to him with a letter casually." Yan Liang did not hide anything from Fa Zheng.
Fazheng nodded slightly, with thoughts flashing in his brows, as if he was very concerned about this matter.
Yan Liang's eyes lit up. With his ability to see into people's hearts, he could immediately see some of Fa Zheng's thoughts from his words.
"Xiaozhi, do you want me to use the help of the ambush group to disrupt Cao Cao's rear and force him to retreat?" Yan Liang's blade-like eyes were filled with excitement.
Fazheng was startled and pretended to smile bitterly: "Your Majesty has a good understanding of people's hearts, and what I want to think cannot be hidden from Your Majesty's eyes. Yes, I have this intention."
"Tell me your reasons." Yan Liang waved his hand.
Fa Zheng is the best strategist in the world. Since he intends to take advantage of Fu Wan and others, I think there must be a reason.
Fazheng coughed a few times and said calmly: "Although Cao Cao has dealt with many of the loyal ministers of the Han court in recent years, and they are almost extinct on the surface, I think there must still be many of them in Chang'an."
He has no secret of his intentions towards Cao Cao, but he just hides it very deeply. The fact that Fu Wan dared to contact the king in the first place proves that he can still gather a group of people."
After a pause, Fazheng continued: "When Cao Cao went on expeditions, he always used Xiahou Dun and Xun Yu to guard the capital and control the rear. Now that Xiahou Dun has fallen into our hands, only Xun Yu has replaced Cao Cao.
Being in charge of the capital gives Fu Wan's group an opportunity to take advantage of."
Xun Yu.
The memory of this top counselor emerged in Yan Liang's mind, and he vaguely guessed what Fazheng meant.
"Xun Yu is Cao Cao's number one counselor. He is very strategic. With his ability, Fu Wan and others may not be his opponents." Zhao Yun, who had recently surrendered, expressed doubts.
Fazheng smiled faintly, the corner of his mouth raised a bit mysteriously.
"Everyone knows Xun Wenruo's talents as a royal assistant. Of course I don't mean to underestimate him, but as far as I know, compared with other cronies of Cao Cao, this Xun Wenruo can be regarded as an outlier."
Xun Yu, an alien?
Everyone looked suspicious and could not understand the meaning of Fa Zheng for a while.
However, Yan Liang reacted quickly and immediately understood why Fazheng called Xun Yu an "extraterrestrial".
"The alien in Xiaozhi's words is to say that this Xun Wenruo is actually a thorough supporter of Han." Yan Liang said lightly.
Fazheng cupped his hands and said with a smile: "That's exactly what I mean."
Yan Liang nodded slightly, roughly understanding the intention of Fa Zheng.
Historically, Xun Yu was called "my son" by Cao Cao. This man's talent was considered the best in the world.
Although Xun Yu's reputation is not as great as Zhuge Liang's, in Yan Liang's view, Xun Yu's talents surpassed Zhuge Liang's in all aspects.
In terms of tactics, when Chen Gong rebelled and led Lu Bu into Yanzhou, Xun Yu designed to save the three cities for Cao Cao, so that Cao Cao would not become a lost dog like Liu Bei.
In terms of strategy, Xun Yu designed a strategy for Cao Cao to welcome Emperor Xian and unify the north, and was the main planner in the Battle of Guandu.
In terms of political achievements, Xun Yu also served as Shangshu Ling for more than ten years, presided over government affairs for Cao Cao, recommended talents, and achieved the state of being a man of political integrity and a rock-solid rear.
Among the counselors under Cao Cao, Guo Jia may be better at military planning, but when it comes to the number one counselor, he must be Xun Yu.
But Xun Yu helped Cao Cao because he saw Cao Cao supporting the Han Dynasty and wanted to use Cao Cao's hand to achieve his goal of supporting the Han Dynasty.
Historically, when Cao Cao unified the north and pressed the Han Dynasty even more, and tried to claim the throne as king, Xun Yu did not hesitate to fight on the side of the Han emperor and clearly expressed his opposition to Cao Cao's claim to the throne. As a result, Cao Cao was angry and had him killed.
Moved away from the center.
Not long after, Xun Yu died of inexplicable "worry".
It can be seen from this that this Xun Yu is truly "whose body is in Cao Ying, but his heart is in Han".
"If Xiahou Dun was in charge of Chang'an, if Fu Wan and the pro-Han faction launched a mutiny, Xiahou Dun would not hesitate to suppress it. However, the one who is in charge of Chang'an now is Xun Yu who supports the Han. So if Fu Wan and others launch a rebellion, Xun Yu will
Will Yu suppress it so simply again?"
Fazheng asked a rhetorical question, awakening everyone present. Zhao Yun and others immediately understood Fazheng's intention.
At this time, Yan Liang, who originally had no expectations for Fu Wan and others, could not help but have some confidence in Fu Wan's "force behind enemy lines" after Fazheng's reminder.
"What Fa Xiaozhi said is true. I think you can give it a try." Jia Xu, who had been silent all this time, said this calmly.
Jia Xu was a former minister of Cao Cao, so he naturally knew the factions within the Cao family's regime very well. Now that he also supports the policy of legalization, Yan Liang has no doubts.
At that moment, Yan Liangteng stood up and said happily: "Just follow the policy of filial piety and uprightness. If Cao Cao cowers here and refuses to retreat, then I will let his lair catch fire and burn his butt."
The plan was decided, and Yan Liang immediately wrote a letter and sent a capable agent to secretly sneak into Chang'an City to contact Fu Wan in Chang'an City.
…
A few days later, Chang'an City, the Imperial Palace.
In the imperial garden, the cold wind howled.
On this cold day, Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty did not keep warm in the warm palace. Instead, he walked around in the imperial garden with great interest.
Not long after walking, the figure of Queen Fushou appeared in front of her, followed by a group of eunuchs and maidens.
"I have met your Majesty." Fu Shou stepped forward to greet him, pretending to be surprised: "I didn't expect such a coincidence. Your Majesty also came to walk in the garden."
Liu Xie smiled and sighed: "The palace is so suffocated that I come out to stretch my muscles. Since it's such a coincidence, the queen will accompany me for a walk."
With that said, Liu Xie took Fu Shou's hand and walked together on the stone path in the forest.
The two teams of eunuchs and palace maids were together, shivering from the cold. They were hoping that the emperor and his wife would finish their walk quickly so that they could follow them back to the palace to keep warm. In such a cold weather, these slaves subconsciously let go
Slowed down.
Unknowingly, the entourage was four or five steps away from Liu Xie and his wife.
Liu Xie glanced sideways behind him and said in a low voice: "My ears and eyes are far apart. If there is any news from outside the palace recently, please tell me, Queen."
It turned out that this was a secret arrangement between Liu Xie and Fu Shou to avoid Cao Cao's eyes and ears and exchange information.
"Cao Cao was beaten by the King of Chu at Luokou. The situation is not good. In this battle, the King of Chu has the upper hand." Fu Shou whispered, and Yong Rong's pretty face quietly revealed his thoughts.
A bit of "schadenfreude".
"Well done, you should teach me a lesson to the traitor Cao!" Liu Xie gritted his teeth, feeling very happy.
At this time, Fu Shou glanced back and lowered his voice and said: "My father also told me that the King of Chu had secretly contacted him and asked him to unite with the loyal ministers in Chang'an City who supported the Han Dynasty to launch a mutiny and force Cao Cao to surrender."
When Luokou retreats, the king of Chu will take advantage of the situation and launch a massive attack to invade Chang'an and wipe out Cao's thieves."
"Really?" Liu Xie was so excited that he almost shouted out. He tried his best to suppress his emotions before he stopped his voice.
Fu Shou said with a smile: "My father has a letter written by the King of Chu. In the letter, the King of Chu also asked my father to express his loyalty to His Majesty on his behalf."
"Did Yan Liang really express his loyalty to me? If so, the country of Han Dynasty will be saved." Liu Xie became more and more excited, with a look of hope shining on his face that was red from the cold.
Fu Shou said again: "My father has decided to unite with the ministers loyal to the Han Dynasty to launch a mutiny and cooperate with the king of Chu to advance westward. My father asked me to ask my concubine to ask your majesty whether he will approve their action."
Liu Xie opened his mouth to agree, but then he doubted: "Although there are not many soldiers and horses in Chang'an City, most of them are Cao Cao's direct subordinates. Are you sure that the state leader and others will launch a mutiny, otherwise they will be defeated and suffer...
…”
Liu Xie wanted to say, "I have been hurt," but when the words came to his lips, he felt something was wrong and swallowed them back.
Fu Shou also knew what Liu Xie was thinking, so he said: "My father said that the person who left Chang'an to take charge of the overall situation is Xun Wenruo. This person has always been loyal to the Han Dynasty. If this person is the only one to command the troops and horses of Chang'an, my father will have many advantages."
Be sure to succeed."
Liu Xie fell into silence.
He knew that this might be his last chance, and also the last chance for the Han Dynasty.
If he hadn't taken action first, when Cao Cao was defeated and returned, I'm afraid Cao Cao would rather take him and flee again than leave him to Yan Liang.
Liu Xie never wants to relive those frightening days when he fled from Chang'an and barely had a morsel of porridge.
After pondering for a moment, Liu Xie looked determined and gritted his teeth and said: "Reply to the father-in-law, I have agreed to his request, so I will let him act according to the situation." (To be continued...)
